


Puppy Love

by insanemoriarty



Category: Sherlock (TV) RPF
Genre: F/M, Fluff, One Shot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-04
Updated: 2014-03-04
Packaged: 2018-01-14 12:11:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1266079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insanemoriarty/pseuds/insanemoriarty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a beautiful day in London, but all Benedict and his partner can think about is adding a new member to their family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Puppy Love

It was a beautiful spring day as they drove down the highway in a sleek black Jaguar. Very few cars were out, but the amount of bikes was countless. It appeared that people even wanted to enjoy the whether while traveling. Who could blame them though? Today had been their first respite from a series of rain showers in London and one couldn’t help but bask in the warmth of the sun, feeling unburdened by having to carry an umbrella around, just in case. One didn’t have to worry about the bottoms of their trousers and dresses getting wet and making sure they wore the proper type of footwear. Flowers were allowed to bloom without the possibility of being drowned or weighed down by droplets.

Even so, next to her sat Benedict in dark jeans, a white v-neck, and a leather jacket, tapping on the steering wheel incessantly without a sensible beat or rhythm. She continued to occasionally glance over to see if this behavior had subsided, but to no avail. At long last, she finally took his left hand in her right and squeezed tightly, causing him to snap out of his thoughts and glance at her.

“Are you okay?” she asked, smiling because he obviously wasn’t. She sat in the passenger seat in a white sundress with coral lacey patterns at the hem by her knee and clinched at the waist with a matching belt, her own contribution to the spring whether to brighten peoples’ days.

He sighed, brows furrowed for a moment as he thought about the answer to that question. “Are we sure we want to do this? It’s quite a big step, no?”

Her response was a soft laugh. “You mean more so than dating someone who is away for literally eighty percent of the year?” she asked, mock surprise in her voice.

She didn’t sound upset about it at all though, as they had been doing an excellent job of keeping in touch. Despite the time differences, even when he was in Los Angeles, he would make sure he glanced at his watch, always set to Greenwich Mean Time, and call her if convenient. If inconvenient, he did anyway too, because he knew she would always glance down at her phone with a smile and answer, even in a catatonic sleep state. Now that he had a break for at least a month, nothing could bring her down, not even his childish nervousness.

Her response deepened his frown. “Why is this such a big deal to you?” she asked, sounding slightly worried.

“As you’ve pointed out, I’m not around often. This is partly my responsibility too.”

“It can be your responsibility when you’re home. And when you’re not, it’s mine. That’s how this works,” she responded gently, lifting his hand up to her lips and placing a light peck upon it.

He smiled at the road, his shoulders relaxing, as he held on to her hand a little tighter. She did wonders to calm him down when he held unnecessary anxiety. Most of it stemmed from his arduous job, with which it should have been nearly impossible for them to be together. But here they were, mostly to her credit. She was his rock in times like these. He was thankful to have found someone so caring and down-to-earth as she was.

He turned into the parking lot of a decorated storefront, feeling his anxiety slightly build up once more. She responded to this with another comforting smile before getting out of the car. He followed behind slowly, clearly less excited than her.

They opened the door and were met with the scent of oatmeal, dried chicken, and wet fur. The light pink tiles on the ground looked recently cleaned as they reflected rows of shelves stocked with cans and large bags of food. The walls were lined with hooks as toys with feathers, bells, and balls hung from them. The walls reverberated the many sounds from within – cawing, whining, barking, squeaking, and clanging.

She and Benedict stood frozen by the door, soaking in all of the excitement from around them. Sure, they had been to pet shops before. Who didn’t have fish, after all? But for once they felt a great rush of eagerness. They weren’t here to purchase fish food. They were here to change their lives. They were here to change another’s life. It was one of the most invigorating, yet intimidating feelings in the world.

She felt his fingers slide inside her hand and interlace with her own as he began pulling her forward toward the back of the store, where their future waited. Now that they were actually at their destination, it was she who was far more anxious.

When they reached the back, they were met with the smiling face of an employee and dozens of crates along the wall, each containing their own balls of fur either sleeping, eating, or playing, but generally looking pleased to just be alive.

“Hello!” the young employee greeted us, shaking both of our free hands. “My name is Kaylee. You two must be the couple that called in earlier. As you can see, we have many puppies of many different breeds. Was there a particular kind you were looking for?”

Benedict looked to me for the answer, clearly overwhelmed by the question. She too felt the same way as she smiled back to the employee. “Actually, would you mind if we just felt it out a bit?”

“Of course, I understand,” the smiling face replied. “They often are the ones who end up choosing you.” She winked and walked off toward the front of the store, leaving just her, Benedict, and dozens of other critters to themselves.

“Well…” she said, sighing and letting go of Benedict’s hand as she walked a few steps toward the crates. “Let’s find our match.”

He followed her as they began to pick out some of their choices.

“What about this one?” he asked, pointing to a light brown corgi quietly curling up asleep on a fluffy pet bed.

“Were you also planning on setting up play dates with the Queen?” she asked, suppressing a laugh.

He smiled as they continued down the line.

“What about this one?” she asked as a tiny little Pomeranian nose came out to lick her finger. Its snowy white fur stuck out in every direction, making it look like a fur ball with specks of black for eyes and a nose.

He scrunched his nose at it. “It’s too beautiful.” He continued when he saw her look of disbelief. “You’ll have to brush its fur and get it groomed and get all the fur off the sofas… It’s going to be a load of work!”

She scowled at his pathetic excuse for a rejection, but moved on. They had reached the end of the queue when Benedict sighed in defeat. “You know, we don’t have to get one today. We can continue looking around for just the right one.”

She was about to call it a day also when she got to the very last crate that had been overlooked. In it housed a small black puppy, which seemed to blend into the black crate, hardly bigger than a football with about half an inch of fur sticking out in every direction, making it look as if a bear cub got lost in a pet store. The sign in front of it read, German Spitz.

The dog had just stopped pushing around a tiny ball to get some water. There was a small white bone painted at the bottom of his water tray so he repeatedly dunk his head into the bowl to retrieve it only to end up failing, sneezing, and shaking water off his face, only to try again a few seconds later. The scene made her laugh uncontrollably.

“No, I think we’ve found the right one,” she replied, still gazing at it with a widely stretched grin that she found difficult to control.

Benedict turned toward the crate and watched the dog continue to retrieve his bone. “That one? Really?”

She turned to him and smiled. “Of course. It’s adorable, but doesn’t know it’s adorable. It’s a tad bit stupid and dorky. Remind you of anyone?” she asked, taking his hand in hers, earning a smile from him.

He turned to her and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “What shall we name him?”

They both gazed back at their soon-to-be newest flatmate and family member. “He looks like a Smaug to me,” she answered, barely holding in her laugh while Benedict couldn’t help himself. “Right then. Let’s get my two boys home.”


End file.
